He was born on 1 May 1800 at 17 Great Hampton Street, Birmingham, the fourth child and eldest son of the sculptor and architect William Hollins and his wife Catherine.

It won the Sir Robert Lawley Award at the Birmingham Society of Arts, reconfirming Hollins’ close links with his native city.

[1] Showing both classical and romantic influences,[3] he produced over sixty major works, including statuary at Malvern Priory, Bodelwyddan Castle, the Royal College of Surgeons and Weston Park.

[1] He said: ‘I wish to draw a veil over my labours for my native town as they were a grievous disappointment to me, and the more than Egyptian darkness and ignorance of that branch of art which I had chosen was simply appalling'.

[5] Hollins ceased stone sculpture (which requires great upper body strength) in later in life, due to his suffering from rheumatism, which was perhaps caused by prolonged working with wet clay in a cold studio.